Religion
Related: About this forumAtheism Doubles Among Generation Z
https://www.barna.com/research/atheism-doubles-among-generation-z/
Atheism Doubles Among Generation Z
It may come as no surprise that the influence of Christianity in the United States is waning. Rates of church attendance, religious affiliation, belief in God, prayer and Bible-reading have been dropping for decades. Americans beliefs are becoming more post-Christian and, concurrently, religious identity is changing.
Enter Generation Z: Born between 1999 and 2015, they are the first truly post-Christian generation. More than any other generation before them, Gen Z does not assert a religious identity. They might be drawn to things spiritual, but with a vastly different starting point from previous generations, many of whom received a basic education on the Bible and Christianity. And it shows: The percentage of Gen Z that identifies as atheist is double that of the U.S. adult population. To examine the culture, beliefs and motivations shaping this next generation, Barna conducted a major study in partnership with Impact 360 Institute, now available in the brand new Gen Z report. In this release, we take a look at their views on faith, truth and the church in a time of growing religious apathy.
Atheism on the Rise
For Gen Z, atheist is no longer a dirty word: The percentage of teens who identify as such is double that of the general population (13% vs. 6% of all adults). The proportion that identifies as Christian likewise drops from generation to generation. Three out of four Boomers are Protestant or Catholic Christians (75%), while just three in five 13- to 18-year-olds say they are some kind of Christian (59%).
Squinch
(50,955 posts)John Fante
(3,479 posts)If the church isn't getting to them now, they likely never will.
Squinch
(50,955 posts)Major Nikon
(36,827 posts)Such things are never truly settled, but Im closer to the end than the beginning so Id have to say the probability is remote.
Runningdawg
(4,520 posts)I was raised in a fundy cult. I knew by age 6 that was BS and not until around age 15 that I was bisexual.
Squinch
(50,955 posts)are two different things.
Mariana
(14,858 posts)of the same age group. If there's a difference between the 13 to 18 year olds of today and, say, the 13 to 18 year olds of 10 or 15 years ago. I'd consider that to be significant.
Squinch
(50,955 posts)teenager.
Mariana
(14,858 posts)I suspect what we're seeing is that, among the young people at least, the word "atheist" is losing some of the negative connotation that has been associated with it.
Squinch
(50,955 posts)muriel_volestrangler
(101,321 posts)Churches reckon they should have them by that stage. Personally, I think I came to my religious conclusions at about 15 or so. And there is a 'none of these' answer they could use; this is the number specifically answering "atheist".
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)Mariana
(14,858 posts)Voltaire2
(13,061 posts)of where the near future might go, there is hope that religious idiocy could lose its death grip on our society too.
NeoGreen
(4,031 posts)...
edhopper
(33,587 posts)when bigotry, racism, jingoism and nationalism also disappear.
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)MineralMan
(146,317 posts)You have built your question out of straw, which is not a very sturdy material. Why do you continue to inject irrelevancies into other member's posts? It's unseemly.
trotsky
(49,533 posts)guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)trotsky
(49,533 posts)billh58
(6,635 posts)fall for the con labeled as "eternal life," religion will always be a marketable commodity.
DetlefK
(16,423 posts)Just read up on medieval Christianity. They were ultra-conservative compared to today.
A loosening thought towards new ideas started with the Renaissance and Protestantism ~1500.
Atheism entered the sciences, as materialism, ~1800.
The power of religion has slowly been waning for centuries.
Who knows how much will be left of religion in another 500 years?
Codeine
(25,586 posts)My son is 10 and is also atheistic, despite the non-stop effort by his grandfather to convert him to the JW faith.
As to a person not knowing their religious views at that age, I certainly knew I had no truck with the notion of religion or belief at a far, far younger age than that. I could see a religious person perhaps moving to a different school of religious thought, but it seems unlikely to me that a person would embrace a religious belief after rejecting the entire notion of religion.
Response to Codeine (Reply #20)
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Mariana
(14,858 posts)if a child is never told, by trusted adults, that there is such a thing as a god, and that this or that particular god is real?
Atheism is an aberration because most children are indoctrinated early in life, and the indoctrination often comes complete with dire threats (e.g. eternal torture) if they dare to question what they've been taught.
I think a child who is spared the usual early religious indoctrination likely will not spontaneously develop a belief in one or more gods, and therefore will be atheist. Do you suppose she would conjure up some new god or gods and start to worship it/them?
SWBTATTReg
(22,133 posts)constantly being reevaluated by each person using their own criteria and not anyone else's, as it should be.
This is a good thing, as free will should have the upper hand when one decides if a religion is or is not for them. I'd support them in any decision they make, and better yet, compliment them on using their own mind and decision making process to decide, and not let others do so for them.
greymattermom
(5,754 posts)What will replace religion for that? Team sports? Pottery lessons? Book clubs? Right now, I'm attending political meet and greet sessions, where I meet fellow Democrats who live in the Atlanta suburbs.